Indonesia rejects U.S. request for Oki's expulsion<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has rejected the United States
\ngovernment's request for the deportation of Harnoko Dewantono,
\nalias Oki, the main suspect in the Los Angeles triple murder
\ncurrently in Jakarta police custody.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security
\nSoesilo Soedarman put his foot down yesterday and said that the
\nIndonesian government cannot expel one of its own citizens.<\/p>\n
\"It's a must for the Indonesian government to protect its
\ncitizens,\" Soesilo told reporters after leading a meeting on
\nsecurity with a number of ministers.<\/p>\n
\"Based on court procedure, he (Oki) has to be tried in
\nIndonesia,\" Soesilo said, adding: \"This is not about prestige!\"<\/p>\n
The U.S. government early this month asked the Indonesian
\ngovernment to deport Oki so that American police could bring Oki
\nto trial in the United States. Oki has been listed by the Los
\nAngeles police as one of their most wanted.<\/p>\n
There is no extradition treaty between the two countries.<\/p>\n
According to Soesilo, a formal rejection of the U.S. request
\nis now being drawn up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta police lack important pieces of evidence to
\nprosecute their case against Oki. Among other things, several
\nguns and a hammer are being held by the Los Angeles police and
\nthey refuse to hand over their evidence.<\/p>\n
\"We're still asking the U.S. government to allow us to
\n'borrow' the evidence,\" Soesilo said.<\/p>\n
Oki was initially arrested in Central Jakarta on Jan. 7 for
\npassport forgery. Later, he was questioned and charged for his
\nalleged role in the killing of his female business partner Gina
\nSutan Aswar, his brother (Eri) Tri Harto Darmawan and his Indian
\nbusiness partner Suresh Mirchandani, sometime between 1991 and
\n1992 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
The three decaying corpses were found together in a storage
\nlocker and identified late last year. (bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-rejects-us-request-for-okis-expulsion-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}